College Football Teams Who Excel at Flipping Committed Recruits

College Football Teams Who Excel at Flipping Committed Recruits

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De-commitments, or "flipping," happen several times during each college football recruiting cycle. With this day and age of early commitments, more and more committed recruits are re-thinking their decisions.

Some teams have a staff of coaches who stop recruiting committed prospects. Other staffs rather reduce their pursuit of a recruit who makes a pledge to another school. Yet, there are several staffs who increase their recruitment of a prospect they want, in order to get him to flip his pledge to their school.

Certain staffs actually excel at it, including a program in the Big Ten. An SEC powerhouse also doesn't get scared away from committed players, which is the same approach taken by an ACC juggernaut.

Florida

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Florida has the ability to go after any recruit in the country, committed or uncommitted. The Gators flipped 5-star running back Dalvin Cook from Clemson in the spring.

In 2013, Florida also took receiver Demarcus Robinson from Clemson, while plucking linebacker Alex Anzalone from Notre Dame. Linebacker Matt Rolin was another player Florida flipped, as he was committed to South Carolina before signing up to play in Gainesville.

Also, don't forget Florida flipped defensive end Dante Fowler from Florida State in 2012, and took cornerback Marcus Roberson from Auburn in the 11th hour in 2011.

Notre Dame

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The Irish are not afraid to go after a committed prospect. Notre Dame is a tough program for anyone to turn down. When the Golden Domers approach a player about coming to play in South Bend, a solid academic school for the most storied team in the sport, it's an attention-grabber.

In its 2013 class, Notre Dame flipped players such as linebacker Doug Randolph, safety Max Redfield and originally signed defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes. Randolph had previously committed to Stanford, Redfield was set for USC, while Vanderdoes was also headed to Troy.

In 2012, Notre Dame flipped quarterback Gunner Kiel from LSU at the last minute. Plus, the Irish didn't give up on defensive end Aaron Lynch in 2011, as he took them on a back-and-forth ride before settling on signing with them.

Florida State

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Another program that is persuasive when it comes to changing the minds of committed recruits is Florida State.

In 2013, the Seminoles flipped cornerback Jalen Ramsey from USC. They also assisted defensive tackle Keith Bryant with the decision in re-opening his recruitment, which ended with him signing with FSU.

Florida State also convinced defensive tackle DeMarcus Walker that it was a better fit for him than Alabama. In 2012, cornerback Ronald Darby chose the 'Noles, after once being committed to Notre Dame.

In 2002, running back Lorenzo Booker was all but committed to Notre Dame (Student Sports) but shockingly flipped to Florida State.

Alabama

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So far in 2014, Alabama has flipped 4-star offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher from Iowa, and saw 4-star linebacker Christian Miller commit to its program after de-committing from Florida.

In 2013, the Tide took defensive tackles Dee Liner from Auburn and A'Shawn Robinson from Texas. Running back Derrick Henry was the pride and joy of Georgia's class, until he de-committed and flipped to Alabama.

Star running back T.J. Yeldon was once an Auburn commitment in 2012, while in 2011 Alabama took speedster Dee Hart from Michigan, and flipped left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio from Auburn. Plus, it re-flipped linebacker/running back Brent Calloway.

"Roll Tide" may soon have to be changed to "Flip Tide."

Ohio State

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Like it or not, other Big Ten coaches, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer doesn't care if a player is committed to your program.

Meyer is masterful when it comes to flipping a recruit, and Ohio State has reaped the benefits of his recruiting wizardry. Demetrius Knox, a 4-star 2014 guard, is pledged to Ohio State but was once locked up with Texas.

In 2013, linebacker Trey Johnson signed with the Buckeyes, but originally was set for Auburn.

In that same year, Ohio State got cornerback Gareon Conley to make the rare flip from Michigan.

If a recruit is committed, but Ohio State is lurking around, history shows some flipping will likely be taking place.

Edwin Weathersby is the College Football Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. He has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.